Arrests made in two Wilmington murder cases

Wilmington police announced Wednesday that they’ve made arrests in the murders of Dywaune ReShaune Simpson and Daryon Terrell Walker, both of Wilmington.

By David ReynoldsStaff Writer

Kenneth Simpson Sr. hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in more than a year. Whenever a siren blared at night he was startled awake and struggled to catch his breath. His 21-year-old son Dywaune was shot from behind and killed in October 2007, and ever since, Simpson worried the violence would continue.His other children and his grandchildren were hurt and angry, and Simpson, 56, felt he had to make sure no one acted on a desire for revenge.He didn’t want to lose another one of his children to violence. And he didn’t want another parent to go through what he did.After a news conference Wednesday, in which Wilmington police announced arrests in two murder cases, Simpson said he no longer has to worry.

Three people are in jail facing first-degree murder and robbery charges – one of them a suspect in connection with Simpson’s killing.Two others have been charged in connection with an unrelated case – the November 2008 shooting death of 19-year-old Daryon Terrell Walker.Police said they also have obtained a warrant for a second suspect in the Simpson case, but that person is still at large.Those charged in connection with Walker’s killing are Juan Raphael Bethea, 17, of Wilmington and Jaqualah Shonsa Banks, 19, of Newark, N.J. They face charges of first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon, police said.

In connection with Simpson’s death, police have charged Erving Converse Muse, 26, of Wilmington with first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon.The announcementThough the killings are unrelated, police say Walker and Simpson were both robbery victims. They are also both young black men, shot and killed in neighborhoods where they lived or spent time. Both left grieving friends and family, some of whom attended Wednesday’s news conference.Authorities called the killings of the two young men senseless, and pledged thorough investigations and prosecutions of these and similar homicides.“Nothing we do in the criminal justice system is more important than these cases,” New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David said. WPD Chief Ralph Evangelous said the killings leave a permanent scar on the victims’ families.““Gun violence and violence in general has to stop,” Evangelous said. “We all need to step up to the plate and realize it has dire, dire consequences.”Two killingsOn Oct. 28, 2007, Simpson was found mortally wounded, on a curb in Nesbitt Court – the now-shuttered housing development in the 1400 block of South Second Street.He’d been shot twice from behind, once in the back and once in the head. As he lay dying, the suspect rifled his pockets. Although people witnessed the nighttime shooting, they told officers they couldn’t see the suspect’s face. On Tuesday, Evangelous said at times he worried police wouldn’t be able to solve the case.Although he didn’t say how the break came, Evangelous said detectives were persistent, kept interviewing witnesses and eventually filed charges. With Walker’s killing, police suspected they knew who was responsible almost right away. Around 7 a.m. Nov. 12, staff of the Snipes Academy found Walker’s body in the grass near the school.Walker was just blocks from home. After his body was found, authorities diverted school-children to keep them from seeing the body. The same day, police arrested Banks, one of those now charged in connection with Walker’s killing, on unrelated charges.She was arrested hours before Walker’s body was found, after she and others held up the Hardee’s at 2518 Carolina Beach Road, according to police.At the time of her arrest, Banks was wanted on an attempted murder charge in connection with a shooting Oct. 16. In that case, a young man was shot in the neck in the Houston Moore community and survived. Even with Banks in jail, detectives struggled to find people to provide information they needed to file charges. Evangelous said police need the public’s help to solve cases. “If you see something that’s not right, call us,” he said. With a little help, detectives like Andrew Korwatch, who investigated Simpson’s killing, can stop telling families they’re trying and tell them the case is solved. And parents like Simpson can rest easy.But while Dywaune’s mother, Laverne, said getting a call that arrests were made in her son’s death was a relief – it doesn’t change that her son will never call her again.“I just miss him,” she said. “He was my baby boy.”